Spring in Belgrade

We woke up really early in the morning on March 11th 2019 in our Hampton Inn Krakow, then dragged all our bags to the hotel lobby where we waited for our driver from My Day Trip, he was right on time. He loaded us into his car and drove toward our first stop in Vlkolìnec. I only selected one stop on the trip because our journey to Belgrade was very far, a nine hour drive from Krakow. I didn’t want to be too tired for the following work day. Our driver was Michael, he was terrific. We arrived in our scheduled stop on time.

Michael walked with us and even took pictures of us while we explored the village. He told us about the history of the village, about the current dwellers and the incredible apples which were not in season. We spend fourth-five minutes in the village before getting Onawa cleaned up and back into the car. We drove another forty-five minutes then stopped at a traditional restaurant along the country road we were driving. Koliba Goral is a great experience! It’s a restaurant with traditional Slovakian food and the coolest atmosphere. I covered more about our My Day Trip experience in its own story.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Belgrade. Other than a YouTuber and a friend of my brother’s I didn’t know anyone from Belgrade. I never heard anyone speak of the city, but I did hear that Serbia was beautiful. My friend Fiorella, Onawa and I arrived late so we didn’t see much on the way in. We stayed in the Hilton Belgrade in a suite facing the perfect view of relief statues on the neighboring buildings and a corner of the fountain. The hotel is between two amazing Orthodox churches. One is the Sava Church which is just above the fountain and the other Saint Michaels Church which has an awesome park for dogs to run and play. Onawa loved the park.


So many forgetmenot flowers :), I was in love.


Newly single it was a delight to find that the people are very attractive, hospitable, friendly, funny and caring. The only other place I’ve seen so many handsome men was Germany. I started dating in Belgrade. The men are gentlemen, helpful and respectful. I only went out with one man while in Poland. I was still testing the waters, but I started really dating in Belgrade- It’s a perfect city for dating. There are so many places to go, things to do- cafes, parks to walk and restaurants to explore. I gave myself the freedom to have fun. I stopped thinking about the future and just made friends, but only with men who had intention of marrying and a future. It was fun! I felt great meeting so many lovely men. I had my own private tour guides. We would walk through parks, the fortress, stopped in charming cafes and explore side streets while being educated about the history of the city. A few of the back streets reminded me of my favorite streets in New York City.

The first time I realized I loved Belgrade was after a lovely walk with Onawa around the river. We were walking up the hill of a quiet café covered street when we were stopped by two young guys who insisted on saying hi to Onawa. They invited me to drink rakia, the locally made plum brandy everyone enjoys here. After a few too many drinks Onawa and I walked back to the hotel. The second time was when I was avoiding a political demonstration by the president’s supporters. I slipped down a side street that led me to a beautiful tree lined residential street with cafes and restaurants on the ground floor of lovely stone buildings. Once I came to the intersection I came across a pink and gold colored Austrian style building. It’s beautiful, the architecture is some of the most diverse I’ve seen in any city of this size. The city is only one and a half million.

The Hilton service was incredible

both of the onsite restaurants were fabulous, the cute terrace Oasis restaurant was a great place to relax, or do some outside work, the upstairs Sky Lounge was a lot of fun for hanging out and the Asian fusion food was terrific. In the evening the Sky Lounge has a DJ and either a violin, or another instrument accompanying the DJ’s selection. The location is perfect for access to the city center.

Serbian food is terrific! Delicious meat and vegetable dishes, wonderful cheeses and yummy salads. It’s different from the Bulgarian and Romanian recipes we came across last summer on those trips. One cheese I was particularly fond of us a soft fresh cheese combined with sesame seeds then marinated in oil.

Kaimac was my favorite cheese, it’s the perfect combination of a cream cheese and butter, you can read the recipe. So delicious!